Biological liquid v Toilet Chemicals (1 Viewer)

steveclecy

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Got back yesterday from a rather cold but exhilarating week in Barmouth. Missed the snow but not the beastly Easterly! Still we were warm and cosy in our MH!

Broken Link Removed inspired me to try alternatives to the formaldehyde based toilet chemicals so I bought a £1.60 litre bottle of ASDA biological washing liquid and used two capfuls each day in the Thetford. My wife, Chris, has a nose like a Customs spaniel and would soon tell me if she detected bad odours.

It has to be said we use the on-board for wee only other than in emergencies so perhaps the test was not as rigorous as it may be, however with daily emptying (and light enough to carry) I would have no hesitation in continuing using biological liquid.

Perhaps because of regular emptying and rinsing or perhaps because of the biological action, the inside of the container is looking a lot cleaner. Also that sweet sickly smell of the chemical is no longer present.

Steve
 

camocam1

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when we bought our van we were surprise surprise told that we MUST use the "chemical" we did for a while but after reading various threads I tried Tesco's everyday Biological and works perfectly well (use it for both) Was actually away one weekend and forgot to load up with anything for the Loo but not problems with nothing in the Loo. have to say that I do empty the cassette every day. So next question is can I stop using the thetford toilet roll and use teco's own ???
 
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steveclecy

steveclecy

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I have never used anything but standard (but nice and soft) toilet roll. It is designed to break down when left wet. Unlike "wet strength" tissues.

Steve

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Carol

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We have been useing the bio quite happily for past 12 months,with no problems.
 

Ed Excel

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Once again

I can only repeat the CC request that you don't use materials that would damage their systems. Bacteria don't like bio. ???
 
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Bio convert for 18 months and Andrex bog roll :thumb::thumb::thumb:

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C

Chockswahay

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Many rural public toilet will have private sewage systems - concerns regarding the use of dry powder biological powder:


"Often dry powder clothes washer soap appears as clots and clogs in the system.
Passing solid clumps of detergent into the septic tank speed clogging of the system and in severe cases can even block a building drain.

"Budget" powdered laundry detergents contain extra amounts of fillers (in some cases montmorillonite clay) which increase the risk of system drainage or drainfield clogging.

Surfactants in detergents (and from any source) are toxic to fish, basically suffocating them by interfering with the ability of the fish's gills to absorb oxygen from water.
Phosphates in detergents pass through the septic system (or municipal wastewater treatment system) and enter surface water causing very high growth rates of algae. The algae growth, in turn, suffocates fish and other life in rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. The rapidly growing "dead zones" at the edges of major water bodies around coastal areas are blamed on surface runoff that contains phosphates, (probably largely from agricultural use)."
 
Oct 5, 2009
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I am no chemist but how can bio be anymore harmful to bacteria than formaldehyde aren't both toxic


Thats what i thought and you don't get blue stains on your fingers.
Seem to think it was the green stuff that the caravan club did'nt like said it rotted plastic pipes or something:Eeek:

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Aug 30, 2012
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Many rural public toilet will have private sewage systems - concerns regarding the use of dry powder biological powder:


"Often dry powder clothes washer soap appears as clots and clogs in the system.
Passing solid clumps of detergent into the septic tank speed clogging of the system and in severe cases can even block a building drain.

"Budget" powdered laundry detergents contain extra amounts of fillers (in some cases montmorillonite clay) which increase the risk of system drainage or drainfield clogging.

Surfactants in detergents (and from any source) are toxic to fish, basically suffocating them by interfering with the ability of the fish's gills to absorb oxygen from water.
Phosphates in detergents pass through the septic system (or municipal wastewater treatment system) and enter surface water causing very high growth rates of algae. The algae growth, in turn, suffocates fish and other life in rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. The rapidly growing "dead zones" at the edges of major water bodies around coastal areas are blamed on surface runoff that contains phosphates, (probably largely from agricultural use)."



And once again I bow to the power of this group someone will always have a comment I actually understand some of what been said

So what does formaldehyde do to the environment and what is a safe alternative
 
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JeanLuc

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At the risk of trotting out the well-worn response once more, get a SOG and don't use chemicals, washing liquid or, indeed, anything other than a bit of water. Oh, and use standard bog-roll too.
If you don't know about SOG, search on here and / or have a look at this:
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Ed Excel

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From an Environmental Science publication; hope this helps:

Most of the "biological" washing powders tend to have three things in common. The first is that they are pH balanced -- have lower political levels and are not quite as caustic as many of the stronger commercial compounds. The second thing is that they often have biological enzymes which are designed to be natural substances that help break down grease so that it can be washed off the dishes. A third thing is the fact that they will often have much lower phosphorus levels or will substitute phosphorus for silicates. The reason for this is that a little phosphorus goes along way -- and you can see from biological ratios that 1 pound of phosphorus will require 20 pounds of nitrogen and over 100 pounds of carbon in order to absorb it into a mass of biological cells. If you don't have the 100 pounds of biological cells -- and most septic tanks probably have a few tens of pounds of cellular material in them -- the balance of the phosphorus is washed through and exits the septic tank and goes into the leaching field. From the leaching field of phosphorus may or may not be absorbed in the soil and it may wind up contaminating groundwater.

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Aug 30, 2012
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At the risk of trotting out the well-worn response once more, get a SOG and don't use chemicals, washing liquid or, indeed, anything other than a bit of water. Oh, and use standard bog-roll too.
If you don't know about SOG, search on here and / or have a look at this:
Link Removed

There is no risk from me I am learning as I suspect are a few others
 

Ridgeway

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Went bio last year after reading on here, honestly we found that the cassette smells a lot during warm days when we are traveling, no worse than nasty chemicals but still pretty dam smelly.

Day off tomorrow:

Job 1: prepare Ice cream van for this season

Job 2: install SOG

38mm hole saw at the ready:Eeek:
 

cmcardle75

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Got back yesterday from a rather cold but exhilarating week in Barmouth. Missed the snow but not the beastly Easterly! Still we were warm and cosy in our MH!

Broken Link Removed inspired me to try alternatives to the formaldehyde based toilet chemicals so I bought a £1.60 litre bottle of ASDA biological washing liquid and used two capfuls each day in the Thetford. My wife, Chris, has a nose like a Customs spaniel and would soon tell me if she detected bad odours.

It has to be said we use the on-board for wee only other than in emergencies so perhaps the test was not as rigorous as it may be, however with daily emptying (and light enough to carry) I would have no hesitation in continuing using biological liquid.

Perhaps because of regular emptying and rinsing or perhaps because of the biological action, the inside of the container is looking a lot cleaner. Also that sweet sickly smell of the chemical is no longer present.

Steve

I'm not sure how much it saves over a dedicated biological toilet chemical. I used to use

.

until I got a van with a marine toilet that doesn't require chemicals at all. It seemed to work well enough. You probably want to empty at least every three days.

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AndyPandy

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Another vote for SOG bog ::bigsmile:

Anything which stops you messing about with chemicals has to be a winner, and believe me, it just works!

Go on, you know it makes sense

Andy
 
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steveclecy

steveclecy

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Hmm. Yes. Export your smell to your fellow campers.

Share Oyour Gas

Steve

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AndyPandy

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Hmm. Yes. Export your smell to your fellow campers.

Share Oyour Gas

Steve

No word from any of our fellow campers as yet, mind you, last week was 2 cows on one side and the North Sea on the other, sorry if you got a whiff tho :Doh: I blame the easterlies

Also I would say that if I could smell it I would do summit about it, and I can't.

Andy
 

JeanLuc

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Hmm. Yes. Export your smell to your fellow campers.

Share Oyour Gas

Steve

In practice, this doesn't happen (and yes, I have stood outside by the vent whilst the SOG was 'in motion'). One of the best modifications I have fitted. It is important to change the charcoal filter regularly though.
Of course I may just be blessed with a naturally 'sweet' gut compared with some other funsters! :ROFLMAO:
 
Apr 12, 2012
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This has been a really interesting thread. I always use the 'eco-friendly' versions of the toilet fluids as I'm conscious of what nasties we flush into the water supply, and had been pondering the various supermarket alternatives...

I'd seen these SOGs mentioned before but not known what they are. Just followed the link - looks neat, so I've placed my order. :thumb:

Looks like a good upgrade, and a nice little DIY job.

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